Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I wouldn't wait. I'd tell them to provide functional a/c and refund your rent for the time you didn't have it. Plus I would start looking for a new unit, and plan on breaking the lease, because there is no functional a/c if they don't take care of it fast.
Ok. I’m having another a/c repair company come out either today or tomorrow so the property manager can get a second opinion on the unit. Right now it’s still a grey area because while the a/c can hold the daytime temps at 81/82 degrees, it’s still basically on its last leg and can go any day. However, when I called the technician that originally came out to service the unit, he now says that there’s no inherent risk of it actually catching on fire, but, he did say that those high temps inside the unit would more than likely burn out the compressor instead. Still doesn’t doesn’t put me at ease.
I live in Phoenix, AZ. The house I rent has a a/c until that is nearly 20 years old.
I contacted my property manager to let them know that my a/c unit is struggling to stay at 82 degrees. In response to this, he sent out a local a/c repair company. After the repair person looked at the unit, he said it was in bad shape. The condenser coil was shot and needed replacement because it is doing a poor job of keeping the compressor below 120 degrees (in fact the readings were pretty close to fluctuating 128 degrees), and even went as far as saying it could potentially become a fire hazard as the heat increases inside the unit.
This explains why my electric bill is nearly $400 for a single story, 1400 sq ft home, and the hottest part of summer isn’t even here yet.
I have not spoken to the property manager yet about it as I am waiting for the a/c company to send it’s findings over to them first. But, because most good quality a/c units here in AZ last anywhere between 12-15 years, it’s no wonder this old unit is struggling and has many issues.
Also, the home warranty company that the property manager uses doesn’t cover much. Apparently they don’t even cover cleaning of the unit or preventive maintenance either, and the a/c company can’t even add refrigerant to the unit until it is professionally cleaned. Not sure why this is, but I was told it will cost nearly $200 that the property manager and warranty company won’t pay for.
The a/c people said that even adding refrigerant to the unit won’t make the issue any better, even if I was willing to pay out of my own pocket, because that condenser coil needs replacement and, from what I’m told isn’t even worth the time because of how much it costs.
So I’m just curious as to where I stand now. I have 8 months left in my current lease. Do I fight the property manager over this or just ride it through and hope the damn unit doesn’t catch on fire in the middle of the night? Also, the owner of the house supposedly lives in Australia, so there is no hope of getting in touch of them, whoever they are.
Am I being unreasonable to request a new a/c unit be added to the property?
That quoted law is for Phoenix proper not the entire metro, does NOT apply to Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Peoria, Surprise, Glendale, etc. The state law (ARS 33-1364(A)) only says reasonable but doesn't define what reasonable means.
That bolded statement doesn't make any sense. The condenser takes heat in from inside the building, that heat then goes to the compressor, located outside, which releases the heat to the outside. Because it has been 110+ (115 the last few days and up to 30 degrees higher in the sun) you would expect the compressor to be 120+ right now. It isn't the condensers job to cool the compressor, if anything it is the condensers job to heat the compressor. It is the compressors job to cool the refrigerant and send the cooled refrigerant to the condenser. The condenser the heats the refrigerant back up and sends it out to the compressor.
What will happen is the condenser coil will freeze because the AC will have been running for too long and the unit won't be able to cool at all until it is turned off for a bit and allowed to thaw.
Sounds to me like you have a bad fan and probably low on refrigerant, likely a leak somewhere. No A/C unit out here is 20 years old though, what you have is a Frankenstein unit where parts have been replaced as needed.
Keep in mind those warranty company techs are the worst of the worst and work for pennies so take everything they say with a big dose of salt, I don't use home warranties because of this issue. They are right to get a second opinion as that tech sounds like an idiot who is trying to use scare tactics to get you to apply pressure for unnecessary, and likely costly, repair work (backing down from his fire warning for example).
That quoted law is for Phoenix proper not the entire metro, does NOT apply to Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Peoria, Surprise, Glendale, etc. The state law (ARS 33-1364(A)) only says reasonable but doesn't define what reasonable means.
That bolded statement doesn't make any sense. The condenser takes heat in from inside the building, that heat then goes to the compressor, located outside, which releases the heat to the outside. Because it has been 110+ (115 the last few days and up to 30 degrees higher in the sun) you would expect the compressor to be 120+ right now. It isn't the condensers job to cool the compressor, if anything it is the condensers job to heat the compressor. It is the compressors job to cool the refrigerant and send the cooled refrigerant to the condenser. The condenser the heats the refrigerant back up and sends it out to the compressor.
What will happen is the condenser coil will freeze because the AC will have been running for too long and the unit won't be able to cool at all until it is turned off for a bit and allowed to thaw.
Sounds to me like you have a bad fan and probably low on refrigerant, likely a leak somewhere. No A/C unit out here is 20 years old though, what you have is a Frankenstein unit where parts have been replaced as needed.
Keep in mind those warranty company techs are the worst of the worst and work for pennies so take everything they say with a big dose of salt, I don't use home warranties because of this issue. They are right to get a second opinion as that tech sounds like an idiot who is trying to use scare tactics to get you to apply pressure for unnecessary, and likely costly, repair work (backing down from his fire warning for example).
I’m just going on what the tech told me. He said that the condenser coils were so badly clogged that cleaning them won’t have much of a positive effect because the whole unit is needing replacement due to it outliving it’s life span. I was then told that the warranty company will cover refrigerant but won’t cover cleaning and the company won’t add refrigerant unit the unit is cleaned.
From what the tech told me, the temps inside the unit (I’m guessing where the fan is and under it) is supposed to be around 90 some degrees, but due to the condenser coils being in the state they are in, achieving that 90 something temp is not possible. I don’t know anything about a/c units outside of what they tell me, but I do know that this unit is the existing unit originally installed when the house was built, back in late 2000. In all the years I’ve lived here, I’ve had several techs from various a/c repair companies come out and say the unit is a cheap, old inefficient one. So I’m curious why you would say that it isn’t possible to have a unit nearly 20 years old.
Also, yes, I despise the warranty company my property manager uses. Completely useless. Also, the tech said that the compressor was replaced last year, as it has been replaced every year probably due to the condenser coils being in bad shape and causing overheating,and said the fan should have been replaced, which I’m guessing, knowing the warranty company, they probably don’t cover.
Let me tell you a little secret about the air-conditioning companies: a lot of AC salesmen have a quota that they must meet every month about how many new units they sell.
To meet that quota, they try to convince people that their AC is shot and there is no way to fix it and it must be replaced. They are not above using threats and fear to make that sale (your house is going to catch on fire. BS!)
There is no freakin' way that your condenser coils and fins can not be cleaned.
I've twice had AC repairmen tell me that there is no way to save my AC and I must buy a $6000 totally new system. I called a different company and in one case it was a $115 part that needed to be replaced. The other one was $3.50 part that needed to be replaced. Both of those AC units are still working fine and the one with the $115 part replaced was 10 years ago.
Your LL needs to get a second opinion.
Your management company is doing a very poor job if they have not have your furnace and AC serviced and cleaned once a year.
Also, your AC unit will not work well and you can actually damage it if you are not keeping the filter clean. When is the last time you changed the air filter?
Also, your AC unit will not work well and you can actually damage it if you are not keeping the filter clean. When is the last time you changed the air filter?
I change the filter every month. But we’re not talking about the filter. We’re talking about the condenser coils on the outside of the air conditioner unit. In an ideal situation, any half decent landlord would do preventative maintenance every six months, especially dealing with the hot temperatures here in phoenix.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
